Tall Ships and Old Boat 2

Los Angeles Fireboat No. 2 - The Ralph J. Scott

The LAFD Historical Society volunteers have been working on a
multi-year restoration project of Los Angeles Fire Department retired Fireboat
No. 2 the "Ralph J. Scott" to prepare it for display in its own museum in the
Port of Los Angeles adjacent to its last assignment in Fire Station 112 in San
Pedro. The 88 year old boat is a National Historic Landmark and under the cover
of a large tent to protect it from the environment while it is being restored.

Be sure and make the Fireboat one of your stops during the
Festival. We will provide you with information about the boat's history and
take you on a tour around the boat and work area. This is a significant
restoration project and one that you can appreciate when you see it. We will
also have sales of Fireboat items, a great raffle of Fireboat and LAFD items
and of course a place where you can support the project through your donations.

Old Fire Boat No. 2, the Ralph J. Scott has a remarkable and
storied history. She was involved with most of the significant fires in the LA
Harbor area, and served longer than any other single piece of apparatus. Originally
named Los Angeles City No. 2, she was built in 1925 at the Los Angeles
Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp. (Todd
Shipyard) in San Pedro. Launched October
20, 1925, the $214,000 fire boat went to sea with a crew of 14 officers
and firefighters. She was later renamed the Ralph J. Scott, in honor of the
city's most innovative Chief engineer during the early 1900s. When built, Old
Fire Boat No. 2 was powered by seven 350-horsepower, 6-cylinder in-line Winton
gasoline engines. There were six Byron
Jackson four-stage centrifugal pumps mounted in pairs forward of
the propulsion system. Each was rated at
1700 G.P.M. at 200 psi., for a total output of 10,200 G.P.M. Beginning
in 1975 the gasoline engines were replaced with diesels and by 1978 two 700
H.P. V-12 Cummins, three 380 H.P. 6
cylinder in-line Cummins and two 525 H.P. V-12 - 2 cycle Detroit engines powered the
boat. The pumping capacity increased to 18,000 gallons per minute and with
added modernized features allowed the boat to serve until retired in 2003 when
new Fireboat 2 went into service.